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 The Observer front page on 27 April 2025 | |
| Type | Sunday newspaper[a] |
|---|---|
| Format |
|
| Owner | Tortoise Media |
| Editor | Lucy Rock |
| Founded | 4 December 1791; 233 years ago (1791-12-04) |
| Political alignment | |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | 22 Berners Street, London W1T 3LP |
| Circulation | 136,656 (as of July 2021)[5] |
| ISSN | 0029-7712 |
| OCLC number | 50230244 |
| Website | observer |
The Observer is a British newspaperpublished on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.
In 1993 it was acquired byGuardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper toThe Guardian andThe Guardian Weekly. In December 2024,Tortoise Media acquired the paper from theScott Trust Limited, with the transition taking place on 22 April 2025.[6][7]
The first issue was published on 4 December 1791 by W.S. Bourne, makingThe Observer the world's oldestSunday newspaper.[1][8] Believing that the paper would be a means of wealth, Bourne instead soon found himself facing debts of nearly £1,600. Though early editions purported editorial independence, Bourne attempted to cut his losses and sell the title to the government. When this failed, Bourne's brother (a wealthy businessman) made an offer to the government, which also refused to buy the paper but agreed to subsidise it in return for influence over its editorial content. As a result, the paper soon took a strong line against progressive reformers such asThomas Paine,Francis Burdett andJoseph Priestley.[9]
In 1807, the brothers decided to relinquish editorial control, namingLewis Doxat as the new editor. Seven years later, the brothers soldThe Observer toWilliam Innell Clement, a newspaper proprietor who owned a number of publications. The paper continued to receive government subsidies during this period; in 1819, of the approximately 23,000 copies of the paper distributed weekly, approximately 10,000 were given away as "specimen copies", distributed by postmen who were paid to deliver them to "lawyers, doctors, and gentlemen of the town."[10]
Clement maintained ownership ofThe Observer until his death in 1852.[citation needed] After Doxat retired in 1857, Clement's heirs sold the paper to Joseph Snowe, who also took over the editor's chair.[citation needed]
In 1870, wealthy businessmanJulius Beer bought the paper and appointedEdward Dicey as editor, whose efforts succeeded in reviving circulation. Though Beer's son Frederick became the owner upon Julius's death in 1880, he had little interest in the newspaper and was content to leave Dicey as editor until 1889.[citation needed]Henry Duff Traill took over the editorship after Dicey's departure, only to be replaced in 1891 by Frederick's wife,Rachel Beer,[1] of theSassoon family. She remained as editor for thirteen years, combining it in 1893 with the editorship ofThe Sunday Times, a newspaper that she had also bought.[11]
Upon Frederick's death in 1903, the paper was purchased by the newspaper magnateLord Northcliffe. In 1911,William Waldorf Astor was approached byJames Louis Garvin, the editor ofThe Observer, about purchasing the newspaper from Northcliffe. Northcliffe and Garvin had a disagreement over the issue ofImperial Preference, and Northcliffe had given Garvin the option of finding a buyer for the paper.
Northcliffe sold the paper to Astor, who transferred ownership to his sonWaldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor four years later. Astor convinced his father to purchase the paper, which William did on the condition that Garvin also agree to edit thePall Mall Gazette, which was also a property of the Astor family.[12] Garvin departed as editor in 1942.[citation needed]
Ownership passed to Waldorf's sons in 1948, withDavid Astor taking over as editor. He remained in the position for 27 years, during which time he turned it into a trust-owned newspaper employing, among others,George Orwell,Paul Jennings andC. A. Lejeune.[citation needed] In 1977, the Astors sold the ailing newspaper to US oil giantAtlantic Richfield, which then sold it toLonrho plc in 1981.[13]: 42
It became part of theGuardian Media Group in June 1993, after a rival acquisition bid byThe Independent was rejected.[14]
Farzad Bazoft, a journalist forThe Observer, was executed inIraq in 1990 on charges of spying. In 2003,The Observer interviewed the Iraqi colonel who had arrested and interrogated Bazoft and who was convinced that Bazoft was not a spy.[15]
On 27 February 2005,The Observer Blog[16] was launched. In addition to the weeklyObserver Magazinecolour supplement which is still present every Sunday, for several years each issue ofThe Observer came with a different free monthly magazine. These magazines had the titlesObserver Sport Monthly,Observer Music Monthly,Observer Woman andObserver Food Monthly.
The Observer followed its daily partnerThe Guardian and converted toBerliner format on Sunday 8 January 2006.[17][18]
The Observer was awarded theNational Newspaper of the Year at theBritish Press Awards 2007.[19] EditorRoger Alton stepped down at the end of 2007, and was replaced by his deputy,John Mulholland.[20]
The paper was banned inEgypt in February 2008 for publishing cartoons of the Islamic prophetMuhammad.[21]
In early 2010, the paper was restyled. An article on the paper's website previewing the new version stated that "The News section, which will incorporate Business and personal finance, will be home to a new section, Seven Days, offering a complete round-up of the previous week's main news from Britain and around the world, and will also focus on more analysis and comment."[22]
In July 2021,Ofcom announced thatThe Guardian continued to be the UK's most widely used newspaper website and app for news and had increased its audience share by 1% over the preceding year. 23% of consumers, who used websites or apps for news, usedThe Guardian, which also then hostedThe Observer online content. This compared to 22% for theDaily Mail website.[23]
In September 2024,The Guardian revealed it was in talks to sellThe Observer to news websiteTortoise Media.[24][25] Journalists atGuardian Media Group passed a vote to condemn the sale and passed avote of no confidence in the newspaper’s owners, accusing it of betrayal amid concerns that the sale of the paper could harm the financial security of staff members.[26][27] On 6 December 2024, it was announced that, despite 48 hours of strikes by journalists, theObserver deal with Tortoise was agreed in principle and would go ahead. The agreement included the Trust taking a significant stock position in the purchaser. The final sale price has not been disclosed.[28][29]
On 18 December 2024, Guardian Media and Tortoise Media closed the sale.[6][7] A new website was launched on 25 April 2025 and the first print edition under the new owners appeared on 27 April 2025.[citation needed]
It was announced that Lucy Rock, previously the paper's deputy editor, would be the new editor ofThe Observer.[30] It was later clarified she is editor (print) reporting to the editor-in-chief, founder and major shareholderJames Harding.[31]
After the paper was rejuvenated in early 2010, the main paper came with only a small number of supplements –Sport,The Observer Magazine,The New Review andThe New York Times International Weekly, an 8-page supplement of articles selected fromThe New York Times that has been distributed with the paper since 2007. Every four weeks the paper includesThe Observer Food Monthly magazine, and in September 2013 it launchedObserver Tech Monthly,[32] a science and technology section which won the Grand Prix at the 2014 Newspaper Awards.[33]
Previously, the main paper had come with a larger range of supplements includingSport,Business & Media,Review,Escape (a travel supplement),The Observer Magazine and various special interest monthlies, such asThe Observer Food Monthly,Observer Women monthly which was launched in 2006,[34]Observer Sport Monthly andThe Observer Film Magazine.
 | This section'sfactual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. The reason given is: Newsroom has been closed since 2008. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2025) |
The Observer and its sister newspaperThe Guardian operate a visitor centre in London called The Newsroom. It contains their archives, including bound copies of old editions, a photographic library and other items such as diaries, letters and notebooks. This material may be consulted by members of the public. The Newsroom also mounts temporary exhibitions and runs an educational programme for schools.[35][36]
In November 2007,The Observer andThe Guardian made their archives available over the Internet.[37] The current extent of the archives available is 1791 to 2000 forThe Observer and 1821 to 2000 forThe Guardian. They will eventually go up to 2003. In 2023, copies from 2004 onwards and gaps were to be filled up to the latest edition.[citation needed]
The Observer was named theBritish Press AwardsNational Newspaper of the Year for 2006.[41] Its supplements have three times won "Regular Supplement of the Year" (Sport Monthly, 2001;Food Monthly, 2006, 2012).[41]
Observer journalists have won a range of British Press Awards, including[41]
Journalism portal
London portalThere are four pro-Republic national newspapers in theGuardian,Observer,Independent andIndependent on Sunday, making up no less than half of the "broadsheet" press against theTimes andTelegraph titles.
The Observer has not published its ABC print circulation figure since July 2021 when it had weekly sales of 136,656.
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